This invention relates to an easy to assemble and to repair prefabricated shoe construction.
Currently, the manufacture of shoes is labor intensive, requiring many hand operations on costly machinery which increases the cost. Additionally, repair of shoes has also become extremely expensive, with the cost of repairing soles becoming prohibitive. As a consequence, it is desired to present a new and useful shoe construction which lends itself to ready assembly by non-skilled labor, with such assembly being relatively simple and fast. Further, a goal of the present invention is to provide a shoe construction which lends itself to ready replacement of the shoe elements, such as the sole and/or heel.
The prior art as best known to the inventor is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 183,675 (1876) to Hyde; U.S. Pat. No. 219,672 (1879) to Beech; U.S. Pat. No. 504,660 (1893) to Blandy; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,646 (1975) to Milotic.
These patents show shoes formed of component parts which are screwed together. Neither of these patents show, suggest or disclose, among other features, a prefabricated shoe construction in which an upper thin mid-sole having slots is attached to the shoe upper by adhesive or the like, and in which a lower mid-sole member has slots located in the areas which are complementary to those of the hooks in the upper mid-sole member. The bottom sole is attached to the lower mid-sole member and the sole is assembled by sliding the hooks of the upper mid-sole member into the slots of the lower mid-sole member and respective recesses of the bottom sole.
The present invention is believed to be properly classified in U.S. Class 36, Subclasses 3, 15 and 100.